Disappearance Without a Trace
by Lady Legend Titan
Summary: The actors of StarKid decide that a vacation in Colorado will be the one thing Lauren and Joe need to return to normal after their feud six months before, and Lauren's accident three months before. But during the vacation, two people from the StarKids are taken, and the police say they just disappeared. MAJOR LAURWALK and a special cameo by someone you wouldn't expect!
1. Prologue

Lauren Lopez waved a goodbye to her friends sitting in the car at the curb and turned back to the large apartment building. She brushed a piece of her brown hair behind her ear as she walked inside and waved at the receptionist in the lobby, giving him a wide smile. Lauren put her headphones in when she stepped into the elevator and pressed the '19' button, waiting for the elevator to takes its long journey to her apartment on the top floor.

"Hold the doors!" A voice rang out from the lobby and Lauren quickly put her foot in the path of the closing doors, forcing them to stay open until the owner of that voice got into the elevator with her. She removed her foot when the empty space was replaced by a hand, and Lauren stepped back from the opening to reveal a man in his mid-twenties stepping into the elevator. Lauren took out an earbud and nodded to him in a hello.

"Thanks, I owe you one." The man smiled at Lauren and out of politeness she smiled back, although she felt uncomfortable and nervous around the man. She waved off his comment and shook her head.

"No, it's fine. What floor?" Lauren looked up at him with a questioning gaze, motioning to the row of buttons in front of her on the wall.

"I'm stopping on level 14." The man replied, and she pressed the corresponding button. They rode the slow elevator in silence and the silent air was broken with a soft 'ding', and the doors opened. The man waved at her as he stepped out and Lauren waved back, the bad feeling coming back to her, and she fidgeted as the doors closed. She couldn't get over the creepy feeling the leftover presence of that man was giving her and she quickly exited the elevator, trying to get that strange tension off of her completely.

She fished around for the keys in her purse and found them, also turning her iPod off as well. She pulled the right key out from the mess of keys on her keychain and unlocked her apartment, turning on the hallway light at the same time.

"Julia, I'm home!" She yelled into the apartment and she closed and locked the door behind her, walking into the kitchen for some food when she was done with that. Forgetting about her best friend and roommate for a quick minute, she pulled a box of gluten-free crackers out from the closet pantry and padded softly into her room, shedding her coat, shoes, and purse onto the floor before going back into the kitchen.

As Lauren sank into a chair at the table in the kitchen, she finally heard the silence, and she frowned. She called out again for her friend, but all she heard was silence once again. Lauren stood up and slowly but silently walked to Julia's room, not sure if her friend was asleep. Lauren got about halfway to her room when she felt a searing pain in her stomach, and she looked down to see a knife sticking up from her abdomen. Clutching her stomach, Lauren kept making her way to Julia's room, the feeling from the man in the elevator coming back with a vengeance.

"Julia?" Lauren's breath was now coming out in pants laced with the slightest tinge of pain, and her voice came out in a raspy quality. "Julia, what's going on?" As she made it to Julia's room, she noticed the door was wide open, and Julia's room looked like it had been ransacked. Lauren gasped and covered her mouth with her free hand, and she turned to go back to the kitchen, not once questioning where the knife came from, and right as she turned around, a baseball bat hit her in the head, and she slumped to the ground helplessly, her hands still clutching her stomach uselessly.

She was on the verge of passing out, and about ten minutes passed in this condition when the sound of a slamming door filled the silent air next to her pained gasps for air. Before Lauren completely fell unconscious, she saw a pair of black Converse shoes in her vision, and someone was shouting her name before the world blurred then turned black.

* * *

Joe Walker left Nick Lang's apartment behind as he walked through the streets of Chicago, not wanting to be a part of the festivities for once. Everyone groaned when he said he'd be leaving about an hour after the girls left, and Brian Rosenthal even called him a few choice words in his drunk state of mind. It was hilarious to Joe, but he decided to walk off the small amount of alcohol he had consumed during the party.

"Excuse me, sir!" Joe's head snapped up from the grey concrete to meet the eyes of a woman running towards him clad in black, and Joe shivered as a strange feeling of discomfort chilled his bones. The woman stopped in front of him and bent over, panting slightly. "Do you know how to get to this address?" She handed him a piece of paper, folded and refolded many times, by the looks of it. Joe has to bring it to his face and squinted to get a good look at the black ink before finally seeing the address.

"Yeah, I was just headed there myself." The words tumbled out of his mouth without warning and she smiled, taking back the paper that Joe held out for her. "My friend lives there and I was just going to visit her cause it's her birthday." Joe caught himself before he revealed anymore information about Lauren, who lived at the apartment complex, and he inwardly cursed himself as the pair started walking towards the apartment building.

"You look familiar, as if I've seen you before." The woman broke the silence after a few minutes, and Joe smiled, not realizing his face was so recognizable. "Are you in any movies?" Joe almost laughed out loud at the woman's stupidity, shaking his head.

"No, I'm a part of a theatre group here in Chicago." Joe replied. "We're called StarKid, you may have heard of us before." He jumped slightly as she laughed, and the sound was easily comparable to nails on a chalkboard. The woman pulled out a small notepad and a pen from her coat pocket and held it out to him.

"Sign it for me?" She asked, slightly timid, and Joe nodded, taking the two items from her hands and quickly scribbling his signature out before handing them back to her, and she pocketed them. They continued walking in silence until they reached the apartment building, and the woman went to the elevator while Joe went to the man at the receptionist desk.

"Can you call Lauren Lopez on the nineteenth floor and tell her that a Joe Walker is here for her?" He asked nicely, and the man - Mr. Lawrence, by the name on the desk - nodded.

"Sure thing Mr. Walker, you'll have to wait down here until Ms. Lopez says you can go up." Mr. Lawrence replied, and Joe leaned against the shiny gold counter as he made the call. While Mr. Lawrence was talking, Joe looked around at the lobby of Lauren's apartment building, and he could easily see why she picked this place for her and Julia to live in. The walls were a dark red, and while that specific color meant passion and desire, the room with its beige armchairs and its roaring fireplace made the apartment building lobby look more homely.

"Mr. Walker." Joe was broken out of his thoughts by Mr. Lawrence, who looked at him with a nervous look on his face. "Ms. Lopez isn't picking up and she came through here about an hour ago. You should go check on her to see if she's okay." Joe instantly became worried and frowned.

"What do you think happened, Mr. Lawrence?" Joe felt a sharp pang in his stomach and he was swimming through a red haze in his vision. His voice was slightly heard, and Joe could only nod numbly, not understanding what was happening to him. He was given Lauren's apartment number and Joe bolted for the stairs, remembering Lauren's complains about how slow the elevator ride was up to the nineteenth floor.

Joe was taking the steps two at a time, ready to fall unconscious, and he breathed a sigh of relief once he saw the stairway door marked with the number '19' painted bright gold. He shoved the door open and ran to Lauren's apartment. Joe turned the doorknob to notice that it was unlocked and he slammed the door open, running around until he ran into the living room. Seeing the puddle of blood, Joe paled and he turned the corner to what must have been Julia's room when he saw Lauren lying on the ground with her eyes open in fear.

"Lauren!" Joe screamed and skidded to the floor in front of her, not caring about the blood staining his clothes as he picked up her small body and cradled it to himself. He remembered to call 911 and instantly dialled the number, his eyes not once leaving the dying girl in his arms.

The conversation had gone smoothly and he hung up the phone before shoving it in his pocket and wrapping both arms around a now unconscious Lauren.

"Lauren, you can't leave me." Joe's voice was shaky and you could tell he was on the verge of tears - something Joe Walker did not shed - ready to cry for his best friend. "Lauren, I need you. Who's gonna tell me to get back up when I'm being ridiculous?" He laughed slightly and fell silent again as he remembered Taz and Up from Starship, two years prior. He brushed a piece of her hair out of Lauren's face and caressed her cheek with his now blood-covered hand. "Who's gonna be there for me when the world's against me?" Joe's voice broke and he registered the sound of sirens before pulling his phone out of his pocket to call Julia, who was staying with Darren for the night.

"Julia, it's Joe Walker. You need to get to the hospital soon. It's Lauren." And with that sentence, he hung up, and the paramedics filled the room.


	2. Breaking the News

**Hey guys! First of all, just call me Taz, cause all my friends say I'm hyper than the Tasmanian Devil and- why am I explaining myself? Whatever. And secondly (and lastly), I'll try to get one more chapter in after this before I go to Tennessee cause internet's not so great down there, but I'll try my best!**

**TearsOfaClown: Is Lauren okay? Of course! I'm not killing off my favorite StarKid ever! Especially when LaurWalk is my OTP. The attack ties into the plot, so that answers your second question. The attack will definitely be referred back to when they all go on the vacation and the two super secret StarKid members disappear.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own StarKid or the members of this wonderfully awesome group. I just borrow them and use them like puppets for your entertainment.**

* * *

Julia Albain was sitting on Darren Criss' couch wrapped in a blanket, shivering from the cold Chicago weather outside the apartment. Darren was sitting next to her with his arm wrapped around her shoulders, and they were watching the movie 'Tangled'. She was completely enraptured in the movie on the flat screen while Darren was immersed in the beautiful view sitting next to him.

"Dare, don't forget to tell the others about the camping trip you planned for all of us." Julia's voice brought Darren out of his thoughts and he nodded, twirling a lock of her chestnut colored hair around his finger. "I think it's cool that you're taking us to Colorado for the summer. I also think the others are gonna like a vacation like that, especially with Holy Musical Batman out of the way." She turned to him and gave him a wide smile, and he smiled back.

"Yeah, I'll have to tell them tomorrow at the StarKid meeting." He replied, and he stood up, untangling himself from her reluctantly. "You want some popcorn? It's Movie Theatre, just how you like it." Darren coaxed her, and she sighed dramatically, nodding.

"Sure, that sounds good!" She giggled as Darren bowed low and he stood up quickly, which proved to not be a good things as he got dizzy.

"As you wish, milady." He put on an overly-dramatic British accent and walked into the kitchen to pop the two of them her favorite popcorn. Julia watched him and smiled to herself, letting her eyes trail down his figure. She blushed red and turned back to the tv, trying to make herself forget that she just checked out her best friend (best GUY friend, Lauren would get mad if she used the 'best friend' title for Darren and not her).

Julia heard the opening chords of **Gotta Get Back to Hogwarts **as she waited for Darren to come back from the kitchen with the buttered popcorn and she pulled her phone out of her pocket to answer the call, wondering who would be calling her so late in the night (or was it now early in the morning?).

"Hello?" Julia held the iPhone up to her ear cautiously after checking the caller ID to see that one of the fellow StarKids was calling her, and she wasn't quite sure why he would be calling her at a time like that.

"Julia, it's Joe Walker. You need to get to the hospital soon. It's Lauren." Julia heard those words and she paled, standing up and shoving the phone into her pocket after Joe had hung up on her. Darren chose that moment to come back into the living room, and after seeing the look on Julia's face, he knew something was wrong.

"Oh dead wizard God, what happened Juls?" Darren set the popcorn bowl on the coffee table and placed his hands carefully on her shoulders, trying to get a panicking Julia to calm down.

"Joe just called and said Lauren's in the hospital!" Julia managed to blurt out as she practically shoved Darren out of the way to get her shoes and coat on. "He didn't say why, but from the tone of his voice it sounded pretty serious!" Darren nodded and pulled his own shoes on before grabbing his coat on the way out.

"I'll drive us." He called back to Julia as she pulled on her coat and followed behind them, and the pair ran out to his car and drove to the hospital as fast as the late night traffic would let them. "Call Meredith and spread the news. From what I know about Joe, he's not in the right state of mind to call anybody else." Julia nodded and pulled out her phone to start making the calls. "And I'll send an email to Jaime. I know for a fact she's on the phone with our crooked jaw friend right now and texting won't work."

* * *

Meredith Stepien was driving her car to the StarKid manor by her apartment to pick Brian Holden up so they could go to the midnight premiere of 'Man of Steel'. She smiled as he ran out of the manor and hopped into the passenger seat of the Subaru.

"All right, first we're going to the gas station." Brian counted off his fingers as Meredith headed towards the gas station. "Then we'll go to the movies, then we'll come back to the manor and pass out on my bed." Meredith giggled at his reasoning and he leaned back in the passenger seat. "How does that sound, Mere?" She smiled at him and shook her head, turning into the gas station.

"You know what I want. Go in and get it!" Meredith parked and Brian hopped out of the car, running into the small gas station. Meredith watched him and turned up the radio to listen to the song playing. Apparently it was America's Top 45 from television, and it was currently on number one, which was the song 'Reach For Me' by Krysta Rodriguez from the hit TV show on Fox, **Smash**. She turned up the volume and listened closely to the words, being able to relate to them.

Meredith hadn't told Brian about her feelings for him, but they were strong. She didn't think she was so obvious about her feelings, but apparently she was, because every person in StarKid (except for Brian of course) knew about her feelings.

Just then there was a knocking on her window and Meredith jumped. She turned to see what the noise was and it was a freezing Brian holding her soda and gum. She unlocked the car and he ran around the car as fast as he could to escape the cold. He was laughing at scaring her as he climbed into the car, and Meredith turned the heater up full blast as he closed the door.

"Here's your sugar free gum and here's your Cherry Coca-Cola." Brian made a face at both items and she laughed at him, taking them out of his hands to not inconvenience him anymore.

"Sorry for having different tastes than you do, Holden." He laughed with her and his smile sent shivers running through her body, but she didn't let that show. Her phone blared out the lyrics to **Kick It Up a Notch** and she pulled it out of her pocket, throwing it into Brian's lap.

"Answer it for me?" She gave him puppy dog eyes and he nodded, holding the phone up to his ear to hear what Julia had to say. The connection was awful, and Brian could only hear little snippets of what she was trying to say, but when he heard Lauren and hospital, he said a quick goodbye to Julia and hung up the phone.

"Movie's off Mere, we gotta get to the hospital." Brian's face lost all of its earlier happiness, and Meredith didn't even bother questioning him as she drove past the movie theatre.

* * *

The white walls of the waiting room in the local hospital reflected light, making the room brighter than it needed to be at three in the morning. Brian was sitting in an orange plastic chair, his knuckles white from gripping the arms of the chair hard while his right arm was wrapped around a now sleeping Meredith, who had made herself comfortable in his lap. Julia was sitting with her back against the wall on the ground with Darren's head in her lap, and she was absentmindedly playing with his unruly curly hair while he slept as well. Denise and Dylan were out getting snacks to help keep everybody awake while they waited for Lauren's condition, and Jaime was calling Joey Richter with the payphone. Brosenthal and Joe Moses were at Nick Lang's house cleaning up the mess the party made and Nick was passed out in his bedroom, so he didn't know about the accident yet.

Joe was the worst looking out of all of them. He was sitting in a green plastic chair, gripping the arms of the chair like Brian was doing, and his face was pale white as he stared at the matching white wall across from him. He was still covered in Lauren's blood and with the state he was in at the time, nobody wanted to make him go home to change out of the dirty clothing. Nobody was crying for Lauren, although the girls had definitely done so a few hours earlier, but Joe looked like he was about to burst into tears, which was surprising, considering Joe Walker never cried for real. Ever.

"Mr. Walker?" A soft voice came from the doorway into the waiting room and he shot up, walking over to the doctor to speak with him quietly, seeing how Meredith and Darren were sleeping the day away. "I have news about Ms. Lopez's surgery, so if you'll come with me..." The man trailed off and Joe nodded, looking completely lost as he followed the doctor to the door to Lauren's room, Jaime following behind him since she was done with the phone call to Joey.

"How is she doctor?" Jaime whispered, seeing as Joe was in no state of mind to speak at the moment, and the doctor sighed, shaking his head and looking down at the clipboard.

"Well, when she was brought here, she was on the brink of death." Joe made a strangled noise and Jaime lightly placed a hand on his arm to calm him down before he did anything stupid for Lauren. "But Mr. Walker found her quickly enough that we managed to pull her through, and she just underwent some surgery for the internal bleeding, since the knife just barely grazed her right lung." Joe's fists were curled in white balls now, but he forced himself to stay strong for Lauren.

"And then what?" Jaime continued to speak for Joe, knowing that he couldn't manage to get any words coming out unlike earlier with the mysterious woman.

"Well, we also saw that she got hit in the head hard with what we believe was a baseball bat or something of the sort, and she got a concussion from that." The doctor stopped and looked down at his chart, both Jaime and Joe waiting for some sliver of good news to pop up. "We're supposed to wake the patients up with a concussion to make sure there's no brain damage, but Ms. Lopez has been rendered into a coma." The doctor turned to leave, but then he turned back. "We're not sure when she will wake up." And with that final word, the nice doctor left the hallway, and Jaime could only stare forward, deep in her thoughts.

_SLAM!_

Jaime jumped from the sound and she turned to face Joe to see he had punched the wall hard with his fist, which was now bleeding. Jaime looked up to see Julia, Darren, Meredith, Brian, Denise, and Dylan standing behind him, and before anyone of them could do anything to comfort Joe or stop the bleeding, she heard the same strangled sob from earlier come out of his mouth.

"Why did it have to be her?" Joe's soft and shaken voice whispered in the dead silent air, and the StarKids could only watch on sadly. "Why did the one person I care about most have to be stuck in the hospital like this?" And before any of the StarKids could do or say anything to make him feel better, a strangled sob came out of his mouth and Jaime backed up, her hand over her mouth.

Joe Walker was crying for the first time ever.

* * *

**Not much of a cliffhanger, but oh well! I hope you all like it and PLEASE REVIEW cause I need the criticism.**

**~ELBFAL**


	3. One Side to Another

**I know right? Two chapters in one day? Relax, it's not gonna happen like this all time. I was just happy because I finally finished it because I was distracted by Starship all day (I got my brother into it and now he can't stop watching it). Funny story real quick: We figured out his Farm Planet name and it is literally Tootsie Noodles. He toots and eats noodles. And his name is Devin, which is a bit close to Dylan, right? Howe!er, it will be possible that I will just post a bunch of chapters before I leave on Sunday to keep you all happy. Haha I'm just messing with you. Probably one more chapter then you all have to wait.**

**starkidllamas-llama: I was crying while writing that chapter so I get what you're feeling!**

**TearsOfaClown: I know! I decided that this will be a TON of LaurWalk so I'm getting the feels all set up. I heard that he was a really tough guy so I made it where he's never really cried for anybody before to just set people off.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own StarKid or the members of StarKid. Just the plot. I would, however, like to own Joe Walker and Brian Holden.**

* * *

"Lauren?" Julia scooted her chair closer to the bed and took Lauren's hand. She noticed the comparison between her own tanned hand and Lauren's hand, which looked so pale and small.

"The doctor said that you might be able to hear us when we talk to you like this, so I'm not quite sure what to say, cause I feel like I'm gonna make a complete fool of myself and we only have five minutes each before we have to go home and get some sleep. I'm going back to Darren's, and the police got our stuff out of the apartment. Well, what was left of our stuff anyway." Julia tried to make a joke but fell silent, and the quiet was getting to her.

"Just, come back to us. We need you Lo." And with that, Julia let go of Lauren's hand, stood up, and left the room to get Darren.

* * *

_Lauren was awake - she just knew it. But when she tried to open her eyes, it was impossible. It felt like her eyes were glued shut, and she couldn't move around at all. She tried to make some kind of sound, some kinda of signal that would tell the doctors that she was awake, but nothing happened. Her body wouldn't listen to her. And she was mad at it right now._

* * *

Darren sat down in the chair and frowned. Lauren Lope was not supposed to be in a hospital bed wearing all white. It made her look dead.

"Lo, I hope you can hear me, because if you have any clues about who did this to you, you have to tell me. Because I will find whoever did this and I will kill them." Darren's voice was unlike anything anybody had ever heard, and it scared Julia as she listened through the door, waiting for him to be done talking so they could get back to his house.

"I love you Lo. You're like my sis. Please wake up." Darren stood up and walked to the doorway, opening the door. Julia smiled sheepishly at him, and Darren flashed her a big grin.

"Come on Juls, let's go home." As Darren intertwined their fingers together, Julia smiled widely with him, glad that something good had come out of a bad ending.

* * *

_Lauren heard Julia and Darren talking and she knew that they would somehow end up together. She heard Darren speaking in that scary tone and she would've shivered if not for the fact that her body was completely stiff. She didn't know who else was going to come in and tell her to come back - She was already working on that for dead God's sake! She was hoping that Joe would come into the room soon, but he hadn't yet. She just wanted to hear his voice._

* * *

Brian sighed heavily as he walked into the hospital room Lauren was currently in, and he sat down heavily in the same chair both Darren and Julia had occupied while they were visiting her.

"Lauren." Brian wasn't sure how to start this. He had never done this before, and he felt slightly awkward, like Jesse Eisenburg in Zombieland. "Um, I'm so bad at these things." He let out a small laugh and rubbed his forehead. After hesitating, he decided to kiss her on the forehead gently and stood up, turning to leave.

"Please come back to us. We all need you more than you know." And Brian exited the room.

* * *

_Lauren wanted to laugh when Brian came into the hospital room to talk to her, but she obviously couldn't. He was so awkward sometimes when he didn't know what to do, and she decided to keep her ears open to see who else came into the room._

* * *

"Oh, Lo, you should've been at the bar still with Joe. Then none of this would've happened!" Meredith felt bad and guilty, because she had dropped Lauren back off at her and Julia's apartment building.

"It's all my fault, I just know it." Meredith wiped a stray tear away and sniffed loudly, knowing her time was almost up with Lauren, but she felt like she had to explain her reasoning. "If I hadn't been worrying about meeting up with Brian before the movie as much as I had, I would've been able to leave after you did. I feel so guilty."

Before she could start crying, Meredith squeezed her hand and whispered a get well soon before exiting the room after Brian.

* * *

_Lauren heard Meredith's words and wanted to sit up and shake her to let her know it wasn't her fault. It was Lauren's fault for wanting to leave the bar early, and she always could've asked Joe for a ride. But she knew that Meredith would continue to feel guilty. The door opened again and she could hear heavy footsteps getting closer and closer, so she decided to stop thinking and listen._

* * *

Joe saw Meredith walk out of the hospital room and watched her leave with Brian silently. He looked back at the door, and seeing that he was the only person there for her who had yet to say something to Lauren, he shakily stood up. He looked at the door and slowly walked to it until he was standing in front of the door.

He looked at the number next to the door and sighed, wondering if he should go in. When a doctor and a nurse passed, he decided that it was the perfect time to go and talk to Lauren.

Joe grasped the doorknob as tightly as his sweaty hands would let him and he pushed the door open. He took a few, heavy steps into the small, white room, and he gasped lightly when he saw Lauren.

She looked peaceful, but also dead. Her brown hair was laying against the pillow around her head like a halo, and she looked like an angel. Lauren was deathly pale, and her small body was almost engulfed completely by the white sheets. She looked so small in that bed, and Joe didn't like it one bit.

He pulled the chair as close as he could to her bed and sat down in it. He was a bit cramped by his legs, but he didn't give a thought to that as Joe took her hand, and stroked her silky smooth skin lightly with his own calloused thumb. He was quiet as he tried to find the words to say to her, but then he just opened his mouth.

"Lauren." His voice was hoarse and he coughed before continuing. "When I saw you on the ground with that knife in your stomach," His voice cracked and Joe cleared his throat. "I couldn't take it. I thought you were gone when I saw your eyes close."

* * *

_Lauren wanted to gasp when she felt Joe's rough hand holding onto hers, and when he spoke, it broke her heart. She had always harbored feelings for the tough man sitting next to her, but when he talked to her, she could hear that he was on the verge of crying._

_Lauren wanted to be able to sit up, take his face in her hands and kiss his tears away, and hug him telling him that she was okay. But she couldn't give that to Joe at the moment, so she started fighting harder for the man she cared deeply about._

* * *

Joe couldn't speak for a moment and he squeezed her hand lightly, knowing that he wouldn't feel anything back, but he had to try.

"I know that you can hear me, or at least, I hope that you can, and I need you to come back. I just want to see your beautiful, brown eyes open. I want to hear your beautiful voice singing and talking, and I want to see you dancing and jumping around. I want you to complain about me not getting gluten-free crackers for when you come over to raid my pantry and fridge. I want you to wear your sparkly shorts that are your favorite color sparkle. I want to hear you yelling at me for forgetting to do one little thing." Joe had opened his mouth and he just couldn't stop talking to her about the things he wanted from her. "And I want you to force me -"

* * *

_Lauren listened to what Joe was saying and she fought to squeeze his hand and smile, knowing that she couldn't, but she knew she had to try. What Joe was saying was helping the fight to wake up and it was actually getting easier. Lauren kept listening to his voice and focused on returning to him._

* * *

"- to watch My Little Pony over and over again because you love the colorful horses." Joe took a deep breath and was about to continue when he felt a small pressure on his hand, and he looked at his hand to see that Lauren was squeezing it. He wasn't sure what to say anymore, but he knew that he was doing something, so he started to sing Dylan's part of **The Way I Do** from Starship.

_"When they say you can't love, I think you've got it wrong  
They say you can't feel, with a heart made of steel  
But you can't say that steel ain't strong  
Well if that's who you are, just a meaningless star in the sky  
Tell me what is the meaning of what I am feeling if you are the reason why?  
Now I may be dumb  
But where I come from  
Folks say they're fine when I know that they're blue  
But you don't know you  
The way I do." _Joe looked at his hand again to see Lauren's fingers moving, and he didn't notice three doctors watching him and Lauren from the doorway as he brought her hand up to his mouth and he kissed it lightly.

* * *

_Lauren wanted to smile again when he started singing, loving the sound of his voice, and she could feel herself getting closer and closer to waking up just by the sound of his wonderful voice filling the otherwise silent hospital room. When he kissed her hand, she felt a smile ghosting across her lips and she heard a gasp coming from Joe and somewhere around the door area._

* * *

Joe saw a bit of a smile crossing her face and he gasped, not hearing the three simultaneous gasps from the doorway from the doctors watching the scene.

"Come on, Lauren. Wake up." He caressed her face lightly and he bit his lip as he waited agonizing moments before finally, she opened her eyes.

* * *

**As a quick side note, tell me who you think should disappear when they go to vacation in Colorado. It can't be Lauren or Joe Walker cause they have to become normal from the accident to help get them back. And if you want a reference in the story, tell me your name and you'll appear somewhere in the story. Example: you'll see my friend Alex's sister Jacqueline's name in here three times because they're three years apart. Got it?**

**Oh yeah, nothing's changed except for this paragraph right here. If you want to request a story, write it out in your review. If it's a chapter story you want to request, give me the pairings and I'll work my magic. Thanks!**

**~ELBFAL**


	4. Secrets Before the Vacation

**Thanks to all of you who put this story on your favorite/follow list! It means a lot to me :D**

**starkidllamas-llama: OTP feels won't really be coming any time soon, so I'm glad you could fangirl over our favorite StarKid couple!**

**TearsOfaClown: I know right? It makes me excited too.**

**starkid5ever32: LaurWalk 5ever :)**

**Guest (1st review): Seriously? A Ron/Red Vines fanfic? I don't know about that...**

**Guest (2nd review): Just wait until you fall off the seat with the amount of suspense I'm planning for later chapters *evil laugh* You'll hate me then!**

**Starkidwhovian: I'll try to make other parts so beautiful that you cry again :) Brian Holden is actually a big part of the story, but the main people involved are mostly Lauren, Walker, and three secret other people *evil laughs again* And if you want a reference, just PM me what you want your reference to be and I'll put it in where I can!**

**Wow, I feel so popular it's so great! Anyway, keep sending in the reviews! I'd like to know how I'm doing and what I need to fix for my future StarKid/Starship fanfics.**

**Be warned: This chapter is filled with a bunch of cliffhangers. SO DON'T HATE ME!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the StarKids, but I sure as hell would definitely love to own Brolden, Brosenthal, and Walks! Sadly, I can't own people though :(**

* * *

"We're not going to cancel the vacation just because Lauren just got out of the hospital, Dare. We just gotta take it easy with her. She's been moody lately, and we're not going to cancel it. You know how excited she was about it!." Julia was irritated as Darren tried to convince the StarKids to cancel their month long vacation to Colorado, but none of them were hearing it.

"Juls, Lauren's not up for a vacation. I'm not going to make her go on a vacation if she doesn't want to go anymore!" Darren ran a hand through his black, unruly, curly hair and sighed loudly, not sure why Julia was so bent on making sure Lauren went with the rest of the StarKids to Colorado.

"Why don't you just ask Lauren what she thinks?" Lauren's voice came from behind Joe Walker, who had just walked into the room, and both Darren and Julia looked down at their feet ashamed as Joe sat down in an armchair, revealing Lauren standing in the doorway wearing leggings, her purple sparkly Toms, and an oversized black hoodie with StarKid printed on it. "I want to go to Colorado."

"You just got out of the hospital!" Darren shouted, losing his control for a second, and Lauren crossed her arms.

"The fresh mountain air will probably do me some good, Darren Everett Criss, so shut up and tell us when we're going and how we're getting there." She raised her eyebrows at him, and they had a silent stare-down with everybody looking at them, not sure what would happen when Lauren won (she always won a staring contest).

Finally, Darren let out a sigh and looked down, shaking his head. "We go on the vacation in three months, and the bus will be driving us to Colorado. Be ready." Darren nodded once and looked around, meeting the eyes of Julia before leaving the room in a huff. Lauren sighed and leaned against the door frame, knowing that she wouldn't see Darren again until they all left for the actual vacation. She came out of her thoughts to see that everyone was looking at her.

"I'll be in my room packing in advance so I don't forget anything." Lauren stated before leaving the room, and Joe let out a long and low breath, turning everyone's eyes towards him.

"You got something to say Joe?" Alex Grace Paul, one of the newest members of StarKid said, and he shook his head.

"Not really, no." He sighed and scratched his neck before standing up. "I'm gonna go pack. Alone." Joe looked like a mixture of sad and anger as he left the room to go to his bedroom, and Brosenthal shook his head.

"We really have to do something about Joe." Brosenthal frowned and crossed his arms. Alex patted his shoulder reassuringly and Denise cleared her throat.

"I just hope this vacation does the both of them some good." She said, and Dylan nodded, stroking her hand with his thumb absentmindedly. "We all really need this, especially Lauren and Walker. They've been avoiding each other since she woke up at the hospital with him in the room."

"I just hope that they can work this out." Evanna Lynch said as she walked into the room, and everybody nodded.

"Well, I guess we should go pack in advance like Lauren. Wouldn't want to pack last minute like Darren usually does." AJ Holmes said and he stood up, leaving the room with Evanna, and the rest followed behind them.

* * *

Jaime was sitting on the bed in Joey's bedroom in the manor and looked around, wishing Joey was here so he could offer her a Red Vine, even though she wasn't allowed to eat them like the doctor said.

She let out a big sigh and stood up, getting ready to leave the room, but she tripped over something on the ground that she hadn't seen before, and she frowned. Jaime bent down to pick it up, and wasn't sure what Joey had a shoe box in his room for, but shesoon figured it out when she opened the box.

Inside was a marriage certificate.

* * *

Meredith was looking in her closet for her travel bag and moved around some stuff on a top shelf, but she could barely reach it. Just then, her cell phone rang and she jumped, causing the box in her hands to spill out its contents all over her. She cursed and pushed the various papers, scripts, and music sheets off of her to answer the phone.

Just then a piece of paper caught her eye with its bright and sparkly golden border, and she slowly picked it up, hoping it wasn't what she thought it was.

But it was. And the piece of paper brought back unhappy memories. She quickly stuffed the paper into her pocket and went to go answer her phone, which had just been ringing for the second time.

* * *

Lauren set her phone down and took in a shaky breath. It wasn't possible. No way. She couldn't be this way still, especially after what had happened to her.

But the doctor was right. He had been concerned about her not being able to sleep and getting tired quickly. So he made her take a few tests. And she passed all of them.

ALL. OF. THEM.

Now Lauren didn't know what to do, especially because it wasn't supposed to be possible in the first place. But it was her (former) best friend she was talking about, so she had to let it slide by.

She stared down again at the object in her hand and sighed, biting her lip. She stuffed it under her bed before she did anything stupid and continued packing like it was absolutely nothing. Lauren had four more months to figure it out. Just four.

* * *

The woman looked around and quickly pulled her hood down as her companion came up next to her.

"Have you received word from him yet?" The man asked, and she shook her head, frowning and crossing her arms. "Damn. We need the money for the next drop-off."

"I do have information about his whereabouts." The woman interrupted her husband's speech and they shared a smirk. But it disappeared from both their faces at her next words. "But they're still with the StarKids. Our daughters. Pity that they were taken from us just because we were 'horrible parents'." She rolled her eyes and the man balled his fists.

"Don't worry. We'll find them soon." He gritted through his teeth and the woman stopped looking around, giving him a wary glance. "Besides, it's not their lives we'll be ending if we don't get the money soon."

"Yeah, I know." The woman interrupted his talking once again and he frowned at her before leaning against the brick wall of their meeting place.

"We're after Dylan Saunders."

* * *

**I know it's a short chapter but I liked how it ended this way with the suspense and all that shit. So yeah!**

**Please review, and comment on what you think each little part is about!**

**Hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see y'all next time!**

**~Taz**


	5. More and More

**Damn, I got three reviews in the first two days after the last chapter was posted. It was pretty cool! Now I want more reviews! Just to see how I'm doing and stuff too.**

**starkidllamas-llama: You only know a bit of her secret. There's a bit more that you could never guess ;)**

**TearsOfaClown: Well, obviously Meredith's got a secret, Joey's got a secret, Lauren's got a secret, and Dylan owes two people a lot of money for a special surprise. Oh, and apparently two of the StarKids are related. I had thought it was kinda obvious! (sarcasm)**

**Rylie: You'll find out what the other secrets are soon. In the meanwhile, try guessing the hidden parts to the secrets I let out already :)**

**Starkidwhovian: Here's more for ya babydoll.**

**Ms Lean Gillies: Of course we'll write more! All three of us write a little bit of each chapter for the best outcome :) And just PM me what you want your reference to be!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Team StarKid or the people. I also don't own Meredith's secret cause it was a good friend of mine who came up with it (her name is Ingrid and she plays Meredith in my Twitter StarKid RPG).**

* * *

_Three Months after Lauren's Accident_

_Lauren and Joe still aren't talking. And the StarKids are now getting ready for their month-long vacation to Colorado._

* * *

Alex loaded her bags onto the bus and took a spot on a top bunk close to the back of the bus, preferring the quiet of the back than the rowdiness of the front. She tried to braid her hair when she was done, but she was failing horribly, and she let out a loud huff at her failure. She was about to turn around and go back into the manor to get a lemonade before she felt a hand in her hair, and she smiled.

"Why the hell did I ever teach you to braid my hair?" Alex laughed and Brosenthal chuckled behind her.

"Because I asked and threatened you if you didn't teach me." She crossed her arms and turned to him once he was done with her hair. "So this is the bunk you're chilling in?" Alex nodded and grinned.

"My favorite one if you ask me." She looked around and felt at her braid. "Brian, you actually did a good job!" He laughed and shook his head, throwing his bag onto the bunk underneath her's.

"Found my bunk." Brosenthal smirked at Alex and she just shook her head, and she turned around to get into her bunk. She tried lifting herself inbut that didn't work, and she was just about to sit in Brosenthal's bunk when he placed his hands on her waist and lifted her up. She smiled gratefully and sat in her bunk, swinging her legs out. He lifted himself up into the bunk next to her and grinned.

"I also brought you this." He flourished out a can of lemonade and she gasped, taking it in her hands.

"You're the bestest friend ever, Bri!" She smiled and drank her lemonade before handing it to him, and they finished the can in a comfortable silence, their hands brushing each time they passed the can.

* * *

Joey took his phone out of his pocket and called her.

"Hello?" She answered, slightly nervous, and he bit his lip.

"It's me. I found a lawyer that'll divorce us for free." He said, and he could hear her let out a little cheer before returning to the phone.

"Good. When can we get it done?" She asked, and he waved at Jaime, who was waiting in the airport for him. He started walking towards her as he replied.

"It'll have to be during vacation." He replied, and he sighed. "Jaime's here, I have to go."

Before reaching Jaime, he hung up the phone and smiled at her.

"Hey handsome, who were you talking to?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around Joey's torso. He hugged her back and shook his head.

"Just my parents." He replied, and Jaime smiled at him, although she somewhat knew what was going on. Still they both pretended like nothing was wrong and left the airport.

* * *

Joe got onto the bus to discover that the only bunk left open for him was right underneath Lauren's, and he cursed inwardly, plastering a wide smile to his face as he walked towards the bunk.

He sat on his bunk and checked his phone for unread messages and tweets. He smiled at the nice tweets his fans kept sending him and then finally moved onto his text messages.

Most of them were from his parents, so after replying to them he opened the conversation thread he had with Lauren before their big 'feud' several months earlier. He thought back to the fight during rehearsal six months ago and frowned, the memories engulfing him completely as he lay down on his bunk.

_*Begin flashback*_

_Joe walked into the rehearsal space and smiled, high-fiving Meredith and fist-bumping Alex while walking towards an empty corner of the room to set down his stuff. He could see Julia, Jaime, and Lauren whispering to each other, Lauren looking like she was about to cry. Jaime kept stealing glances towards him and Julia was trying to comfort Lauren (or at least, that's what he thought)._

_"Guys, rehearsal's starting now!" Brolden called out and Joe instantly forgot about what Lauren was crying about, getting into position to start the warm ups._

_"Just talk to him, okay?" Jaime's voice broke through his thoughts and he frowned, not sure what she was saying and to who, but he quickly forgot about it again when everyone started singing._

_After the warm ups, they had to get into groups to practice for Holy Musical Batman!, and Lauren kept messing up her dance routine, so Joe had to help her (because he was the only person who knew all of the dance routines)._

_"Okay Lauren, just one more time, and then you can go over your lines on your own." Joe was speaking in a soft tone so he wouldn't make her cry or yell at him and she nodded. She started going over the movements and missed her cue, so he stopped her._

_"What now?" She snapped at him, and he shrunk back a little bit._

_"I just want you to remember to get your cue, Lo. That's all." He smiled a her, and instead of taking a deep breath to try again, she broke._

_"Look, I think I'm doing it just fine, so you can stop nagging me about it!" Lauren yelled at him, and the room went silent. Joe was shocked. They had always been best friends, so he wasn't sure why he was being yelled at by his best friend._

_"I'm not nagging you Lauren!" He barely noticed his voice raising as well and he crossed his arms. "I'm just trying to help you!"_

_"Well I don't need your help!" She crossed her arms, taking a step forward, and she matched his volume of voice in anger. Joe was about to reply to that when Lauren continued, and her next words broke his heart._

_"I don't need anything from you, so leave me alone!" She shoved him as hard as she could and ran out of the room, all of the StarKids—including Joe—completely baffled by what just happened._

_"Dude, I'm sorry." Darren reached out to pat his shoulder but Joe just shrugged it off, and he grabbed his stuff before leaving the rehearsal. When he got back to the manor, that's when he let himself cry._

_*End flashback*_

Joe sighed and shook his head, not sure why Lauren was so upset, but he was hoping he'd be able to find out soon. Lauren still wouldn't talk to him, and Joe was still hurt, so whenever she sent him text messages saying that they needed to talk, he'd ignore them, knowing that if it was really important, Lauren would tell him to his face.

* * *

AJ looked at the time on his watch nervously and started to pace, waiting. After what seemed like an eternity (but was really only a minute), his phone rang exactly at eleven in the morning and he answered it quickly.

"Hello?" He fidgeted and almost started pacing, but decided against it for fear that he would know.

"Hello, Mr. Holmes. This is Officer Prescott, as usual." The voice on the other end of the phone was almost sympathetic, and AJ knew where this was going. But still, he wanted to hear him say it.

"Did you find him?" He asked almost frantically, and Officer Prescott sighed, confirming AJ's thoughts.

"I am sorry to say that he was not found, and neither was his accomplice. You have to stay there." He replied, and AJ sighed.

"Yeah, I know. Okay bye." He hung up on the officer before he got a reply and slowly walked towards the bus.

"Hey, are you okay AJ?" Julia asked as she ran past him, and he nodded, straining a smile.

"Yeah, just tired." He gave her a thumbs up and she returned it before running towards the bus to catch up with Darren.

But only AJ knew that he was lying. And only AJ knew what was coming next.

* * *

**I know, this chapter didn't have much of anything, but it was an important stepping stone in the story!**

**Please review, and remember, if you want a reference you have to PM me your name/nickname and what you want the situation to be, and I'll try to make it fit into the story!**

**~Rocketship**


	6. Midnight Musings and a Bet

**OMDWG 20 reviews on our first story! That's exciting!**

**PLEASE READ THIS PARAGRAPH BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER! Before I answer anybody's reviews, it says later in this chapter that Lauren is eight months pregnant. THIS IS TRUE! Please read the earlier chapters because I have edited some of them so it all now makes better sense. And remember, the impossible is always possible in fanfiction :)**

**Now you may proceed to the answering of reviews.**

**TearsOfaClown: The chapters are short because I FEEL LIKE MAKING THEM SHORT MWAHAHAHAHA! NO but seriously, they're short because it's all in the suspense. I mean, they've all got _secrets_, and babe, these dead goddamn problems with them are secret for a reason. And yes, before the accident, they were in a feud, but the reason for Joe walking to her apartment building will be revealed later in the story :)**

**Ms Leen Gillies: I know you're a bit confused but we're being vague for a reason. I mean, I'd love to tell you what the secrets are, but then there wouldn't be any point in the story! And this would've come out sooner but it was hard squeezing all this out - the boring stuff is always hard.**

**starkidllamas-llama: Here's another one to add onto the list! Riddle me this, eh Potter? ;D**

**Starkidwhovian: Wow, none of us thought that people would like it, but let me just say that your compliment warms my heart (Lady Legend)! And to think, we had no idea how we would blend our writing styles together and this story just came outta nowhere. Literally.**

**GinnyGirl998: Haha Ingrid! I must say, I'm surprised you're in the fanfiction world myself. I mean, I didn't know many RPers that were on this site, but yay I found one (Taz)! Hope you don't mind that we borrowed your secret!**

**KabraPotterJackson: Yay Ali you read it! Haha thanks for that compliment, I'm sure Johnny is shaking his head at it because he doesn't think it's true.**

**So so sorry for the late updates but I (Lady Legend) had such horrible writer's block that it was a miracle for me to pop out that first part, and even then I pulled the rest of it straight out of my ass. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: We don't own StarKid. But I do want Brian Rosenthal for Christmas. Wrapped in a cute, purple, sparkly bow (with extra sparkles because it's my favorite color).**

* * *

"Caaaaaaaaaaaaarl, that KILLS people!" The sounds of 'Llamas With Hats' filled the bus and laughter was heard loudly as Carl responded with "Oh, I did not know that," and the short video went on. The only person not watching the video with then was Lauren, and she was in her bunk instead of watching the YouTube video with the rest of the StarKids, and everyone knew that she needed her rest, assuming she was sleeping.

But Lauren wasn't sleeping. She was listening to the Starship soundtrack—more specifically the song Life. It fit her perfectly at the moment.

"One mind, one voice, one body to live in..." The words hit home for her and she stopped the music, throwing her iPod to the side. Lauren sighed and lay down on her back, not sure what to do now. She didn't want to have to face the others, because they had kept giving her pitying looks.

"Walker, seriously, you can't take what she said to heart." Brolden's voice was heard over the other's laughter and Lauren could tell he was coming closer, obviously talking with Joe.

"She said she didn't need me anymore, Brian." Joe replied, and Lauren bit her lip, not sure where he was going with his words. "I couldn't deal with that. At all."

"We know." Was the only sentence said after that, and Lauren closed her eyes. She knew that she had made a mistake as soon as she had blurted out those words, especially because of what she was going to have to discuss with him as soon as possible.

"I was a wreck. At the hospital." Lauren could hardly believe Joe's words as he kept talking to Brolden, and she slowly scooted closer to the opening of the bunk to listen closer. "I've never cried like that before. Not since I was a kid." Lauren sniffed silently and closed her eyes, eventually falling asleep with her arms wrapped protectively around her stomach.

Hormones sucked.

* * *

About three hours into the road trip to Colorado, Denise sat down on the couch next to Alex, who had come out of her bunk about an hour ago when Brian said he needed some sleep (and of course, he was too lazy to get up from her bunk to sleep in his own just underneath).

"This is definitely going to be an interesting vacation, don't you think?" Denise said as she was getting comfortable on the sofa next to her girl best friend, and Alex nodded in agreement, turning off her phone.

"What are you gonna do in Colorado?" She looked at Denise with a raised eyebrow, and then she smirked. "You gonna finally go on a date with Dylan?" Her friend blushed to the roots of her blond hair, and Alex smiled smugly, knowing that she hit a good spot. But Denise quickly wiped the grin off of her face.

"Why, are you jealous just because Brian hasn't asked you out on a date yet?" Denise retorted, and Alex paled.

"He's my best friend Deeds. He doesn't like me that way." Alex replied, and then she started to stammer when she realized what she had said. "I mean I-I don't like him in...in that way!" She tried to laugh it off, but Denise didn't believe her.

"Uhuh, yeah, sure." She said, and Alex slapped her in the face with a pillow.

"I'm serious here!" Alex said loudly, and Meredith looked at them with a raised eyebrow, but didn't say anything, just turned back around to talk to Brolden.

"Hey, when do you think Brian's gonna grow the balls to ask Meredith out?" Denise whispered to her, and Alex looked back over at the laughing pair. She smirked and whispered her reply.

"Bet you ten bucks he's gonna do it during our vacation." She said, and Denise nodded, holding out her hand for Alex to shake.

"It's a deal." She replied, and the two girls spit in their hands before shaking their promise, wondering if their own crushes would ask them out any time soon.

* * *

Lauren woke up in the middle of the night, extremely uncomfortable with her position on the bunk. She pulled her giant hoodie back on to hide the eight-month baby bump and silently slid down from her perch, trying not to wake up Joe underneath in his bunk. Lauren walked into the small kitchen in the bus and grabbed a lemonade, downing it quickly before looking for some almonds, her new found (and favorite) craving. She was surprised that she had been able to keep a secret like hers for so long, but it was only because of the help from Jaime and Julia that she could. Luckily for her, the fourth floor of StarKid Manor was completely empty, so she had set up the baby's room up there, hoping nobody would find it.

"Lo, what are you doing up so late at night?" She heard a whisper and turned around to see Joey walking into the kitchen, yawning.

"I could ask you the same thing, Richter." Lauren pointed out and she ate another almond. He sighed and shook his head, pulling a cold water bottle out of the refrigerator.

"I couldn't sleep, so I thought that standing up and walking my lazy ass to the kitchen for some water would be a good idea." He said and he gulped down half of the water before continuing on. "But now I'm cold, so I'm just gonna go back and try to sleep." Joey put the water bottle in the fridge and looked at her weirdly. "You okay Lopez? You seem a bit on edge lately, like there's something you're hiding from the rest of us."

"Why would I hide anything from you guys?" Lauren laughed out and finished her cup of almonds before passing by Joey. "Anyway, I'm going to bed. Night!" Joey followed her out of the kitchen and climbed back into his bunk before realizing that she had never answered his question.

* * *

The former actress walked into the hotel with a grin, checking into her room quickly. As she got into the elevator, she wondered what each of her old friends were doing. The elevator doors closed and she was left in the small space with only her thoughts for company.

"Why did I leave the stage behind?" She whispered to herself and looked down at her left hand, which was adorned with an engagement ring and a wedding band. Sighing, she dropped her hand and looked back up at the numbers, glad that the elevator ride was slow and long, seeing as her room was on the top floor. "Why did I do it all for some guy?"

After she had met and married her now ex-husband, she left the world of acting behind, only to immediately regret it, and she became depressed. Her ex-husband couldn't handle his wife's moping and cheated on her for over a year before she had finally decided to divorce him. It was quick and easy, and she came out of her depression by joining an acting group in Ann Arbor. She moved back to Chicago at the start of 2013, and took part in a few small plays before taking a vacation in Colorado to get used to the single life again.

The elevator dinged and she was brought out of her thoughts, wheeling her luggage out of the elevator towards her room. As soon as she entered the room, she dropped the suitcase and made her way to the bathroom. She took off her rings and washed her hands, then she looked at herself in the mirror. Feeling inspired, she opened up her suitcase.

"No more married shit." She whispered as she got out a comb and some hairspray. She went back into the bathroom and took in a deep breath, then she started teasing her hair up from its flat ironed state to its usual, wavy hair. Then, wanting a change, she teased it even more so she was looking at a wild, bushy mane of brown hair. She set the comb down and hair sprayed her hair so it would stay like that.

Satisfied with her new hairdo, she pulled off her coat and took her phone out of her pocket, taking a picture of herself in the mirror. She opened Twitter and started a new tweet, adding the picture to the tweet after she typed it, and then she sent it.

MissGruesen's latest tweet: "The coolest girl in the whole wide world is going back!"

* * *

**I have nothing against Matt Socha. Absolutely nothing against Matt: I love him, he's a totally awesome guy! But for the sake of this story, he has to be a total asshole. It has to be that way for this story to flow properly. I'm sorry!**

**And yeah, I just had that random idea to bring Bonnie into the story now. She would've been coming in during later chapters, but I did need something to put in, and if you don't succeed with anything else, you improvise! That's what all aspiring actors like me do anyway!**

**And remember, the secrets from this story are all based off of the secrets from my Twitter RPG, 'StarKid Manor'. I just twisted them around for the sake of the story.**

**Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, and please review! It makes my day (and Taz's day, and Rocketship's day)!**

**~Lady Legend**


	7. Thoughts On the Matter?

**Lots of reviews! Yay!**

**Ali: Haha thanks babydoll! Means a lot :)**

**Ms Leen Gillies: That part with Joey and Lauren was so random, like, I don't even know how the bloody hell I came up with it! And yeah, I loved Bonnie's entrance. You'll see more of Bonnie later on when she makes up with the StarKids.**

**TheTurtleThatGoesSpin: Well it is lovely to see your review in my inbox, Anna! And yes, the secrets are based off of the ones from the group. OMDWG THE JOE TO MY LAUREN, THE STAR TO MY BUCKS, THE NO TO MY MONEY! ;)**

**corinadamian: And you are a new reviewer as well...Hello! Thank you, your review made my day (especially cause you've never reviewed on this story before).**

**a-random-fanfiction-fairy: Creative username you got there :) and yes, I love that last sentence too!**

**TearsOfaClown: I hate it when people make her the bad guy. I've always thought that Bonnie would be a pretty awesome person to hang out with! And as for the question about Lauren's pregnancy... Do I really have to get into a conversation about the birds and the bees? Besides, the father of her baby is a secret SHHHH! That last question I can't answer because it will give everything away. Heh, nice talking to you too!**

**Guest: We will definitely try to update whenever possible.**

**lreynolds: At first I didn't get what you were saying, but now I've totes got it so you're all good! Yeah, I personally didn't even realize that I had been making them quote themselves at first—my fingers just keep typing and typing until I think it's a good enough cliffhanger for y'all to hate me—but I seriously did not mean to put those in. Oh well, thank you for pointing that out! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Team StarKid. But if I were Lauren, I'd talk to Joe quickly, cause he wants to be somebody's buddy and I'm that person who wants to be his buddy.**

**Also, one quick thing: I know that Lauren's a small person naturally. It would probably be obvious that she's pregnant. But a reminder: FanFiction is all our imaginations come up with. And besides, the StarKids are keeping their distance, so they wouldn't really notice. Of course they're suspicious, but they don't say anything just in case she does yell at them. Everything will be explained in this chapter because it does include her thoughts on everything that's happening with her, you just gotta wait. Okay, thanks!**

* * *

Brosenthal woke up in what he thought at first was his bunk, but when he felt a breath on his neck, he moved his head just the slightest to be met with a mane of dark brown, wavy hair.

Alex.

He looked back up at the ceiling of her bunk and tried not to move, in case he woke her and tried not to move, in case he woke her up. The girl with her head resting on his shoulder was sleeping, so Brian had time to collect his thoughts silently (which was surprising to him because he rarely had time to collect his thoughts). He tried to ignore everything else that was stirring in his head and focused on the one thing that hadn't bothered to escape his head for five years.

Alex.

He considered her to be his best friend, but the problem was that he was her best friend (ironic, right?). Being friend zoned wasn't the first thing on his list when he saw her again as a part of StarKid this time, but Brian could tell that they're friendship was just a facade for what was really brewing between them. What though, he didn't know. He wanted to confess everything to Alex, but he wasn't sure where to start.

Brian finally let himself think back to the fateful day he met her, four years ago, just after A Very Potter Musical was premiered on YouTube and after people started buying StarKid items on the site.

_*Begin flashback*_

_Brian was having a bad day._

_He woke up late, which resulted in him missing out on the audition for the Broadway musical Les Miserables. And he had rehearsed and rehearsed his monologue and song, but it seemed to be obvious that he was not destined to be famous on Broadway, even after the success of AVPM._

_So Brian then went to Starbucks to get a hot chocolate, but he had to tell the worker three times that he wanted hot chocolate, and when he was finally handed the cup, he was pissed to discover that it was really a chai tea latte and not a venti hot chocolate. He would have corrected the order but he had to go to Central Park to meet up with Joey and his new girlfriend (they didn't last very long afterwards)._

_He sped up his pace and ran down the stairs of the nearest Subway station, lucky that they had the F train running through, and he only stopped so he could swipe his Metro-card through the card slot. He practically jumped over the turnstall and he almost made it onto the platform when he ran smack into a girl, and they both fell down onto the ground._

_"Oh my god!" Brian said frantically and he stood up to help her pick up her things. He ignored the fact that his coffee cup was split in half on the ground and there was a small puddle of the brown liquid by the wall, but he continued to help her pick up her belongings, hardly noticing that she was crouched on the floor with him helping him out. Brian reached out for her book at the same time as she did and their fingers touched._

_His senses all heightened, and the sounds of the bustling Subway station were drowned out, his focus going solely on her. His brown eyes connected with her blue eyes and he took this time to look at her close up._

_She was wearing her dark brown hair into a half ponytail, the ponytail straightened while the rest of it was slightly wavy, giving off a very natural look. Her bright blue eyes were outlined in a light dark brown, giving off the impression that she didn't really wear a ton of make up anyway, and to confirm this Brian searched her skin to see if she was covering up anything with powder or concealer, but it was bare. She was wearing a ratty old t-shirt that advertised Julliard, a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, and a pair of purple Converse shoes that went up to her knees. All in all, she looked absolutely beautiful, and he could tell that she didn't even try._

_"I'm so sorry." He said again, and he stood up with the book in his hand, taking her hand and pulling her up with him. "I wasn't watching where I was going."_

_"That's okay." She replied quickly, and she grinned widely. Brian could see that she had a retainer in, and he was now certain that she wasn't trying to look good that day. "I wasn't watching where I was going either."_

_"F train is coming into the station." The automated voice from the intercom rang loudly through the air, and Brian sighed._

_"Well, this is where I take my leave." He said, and he let go of her hand. "Goodbye. Maybe if we're lucky we'll see each other again." He whispered, and he walked onto the train. The girl looked slightly sad but walked back off in the direction she was going._

_Brian turned around when he got onto the train to see if he could take one last look at her, but she had disappeared. He had thought it was a dream until he realized that he had her book in his hands._

_"Well, too late now." He whispered to himself, and then he sat down and opened the book to the first page, reading it to see if it was any good._

_*End flashback*_

Brian came out of his thoughts and looked over to see Alex still sleeping, her hair crazy with waves. He wanted to tell her how he felt about her, he wanted to take that chance with her and go to the next level, but he wasn't sure that she would be up for trying a relationship with him.

Little did he know that Alex was actually awake, the same exact thoughts crossing her mind.

* * *

Meredith woke up in her bunk with a sharp poking sensation in her left leg, just below her hipbone. She realized that it was a folded up piece of paper in the pocket of her jeans—something that she had forgotten to change out of since she was so tired—and she let in a sharp intake of breath. She pulled out the paper and unfolded it slowly, looking at the golden border around the edges.

She had remembered everything that had happened at her friend's wedding in Vegas—up until the fact that she had met up with another one of her friends and gotten drunk. Meredith woke up the next morning with a hangover and a husband, knowing that their friendship would never be the same again. Meredith looked at the printed name on the bottom and wrinkled her nose, wishing it had been a different friend she had ended up married to.

She was no longer Meredith Stepien. She was now Meredith Richter.

* * *

Lauren was the first person to get off of the bus, hoping that nobody would question anything about her. She was eight months in, one month left to actually tell Joe, and still she hadn't done anything to let him know that he was going to be a dad. But she did know that about half of them were stressed out about the musical they were going to cast right after the vacation, and the other half—mainly Darren, Joey, and the other Los Angeles StarKids—were going to be auditioning for television shows and movies soon.

It was sometimes stressful on her for keeping this all such a huge secret, but it's not like she could tell anybody. She wasn't dumb—she had been to hher regularly scheduled doctor's appointments to make sure the baby was safe and healthy (especially after the incident three months prior)—Lauren just couldn't do it alone. So she had to tell him.

The question was when?

* * *

**This chapter was really fun to write. SO MANY FEELS!**

**~ELBFAL**


End file.
